


Secrets of the past

by Prinxietea



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Deceit's Name Is Ethan, M/M, Past Abuse, Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prinxietea/pseuds/Prinxietea
Summary: Virgil breathed in the fresh April air as he left the literature building. He was glad that his afternoon classes were finally over because it meant he could at last meet his boyfriend in that new coffee shop he’d heard about. He’d had a free morning, exceptionally, which meant he hadn’t gotten to see him like he normally would have, and that made him miss him even more.Virgil soon reached the coffee shop where he knew Roman already was, since he finished his classes one period earlier than him. Upon entering the shop, he heard the loud, familiar laugh of his boyfriend, which was the most pleasant sound he’d heard all day. It put a smile on his lips, which soon faded when he began wondering what he could be laughing so hard about.And that’s when it all came into view.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Kudos: 54





	Secrets of the past

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I wrote in the Sanders Sides fandom, about a year ago (hence Deceit's name being Ethan). I've just decided to actually start using my account on AO3 and not only publish on Tumblr. Please be nice and let me know if I should add specific tags (I'm new to all this)!

Virgil breathed in the fresh April air as he left the literature building. He was glad that his afternoon classes were finally over because it meant he could at last meet his boyfriend in that new coffee shop he’d heard about. He’d had a free morning, exceptionally, which meant he hadn’t gotten to see him like he normally would have, and that made him miss him even more.

As he walked down the street, he thought of how lucky he was to be dating someone like Roman. He had never imagined that he would love spending his evenings debating over the hidden meanings of Disney movies, making up theories about alternate endings for tragedies or cuddling in front of the TV, singing along to Dear Evan Hansen for the billionth time. Well, he loved doing that, but having Roman by his side made it ten times better.

Virgil soon reached the coffee shop where he knew Roman already was, since he finished his classes one period earlier than him. Upon entering the shop, he heard the loud, familiar laugh of his boyfriend, which was the most pleasant sound he’d heard all day. It put a smile on his lips, which soon faded when he began wondering what he could be laughing so hard about.

And that’s when it all came into view.

There was Roman, sat on a bar stool. There was a barista, leaned against the counter in front of him. Virgil’s heart stopped when he immediately recognized the barista’s face.

Virgil became conscious that neither of them had noticed his presence when he heard the barista speak as he took a deep breath.

“Oh Roman, do you know you’re the best thing that happened to me today?

The bartender opened his eyes, which instantly devoured Virgil’s boyfriend, and put a hand on Roman’s, which was resting on the counter.

“I love your laugh. It sounds like one of a knight.”

At that, Virgil snapped and rushed over to them.

“Hey Princey.” He said, sliding his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and planting a kiss on his lips.

He wouldn’t normally act like that when someone he didn’t know was so close, but this time he had good reasons to.

Using Ro’s favorite nickname showed that barista that he was a prince, not a knight, in his mind. And he needed to show him that his handsome man was taken.

And let’s be fair, it wasn’t like Virgil didn’t know the guy.

He smirked at the look on his face, clearly expressing his shock upon seeing him and the realization of what he’d been doing.

Roman threw an arm around Virgil’s shoulders.

“Hi Virge. Here’s your americano. Oh, and this is Ethan.”

“I know.” Virgil drew a breath as he realized his mistake and added, “It’s written on his badge.”

A glance at Ethan formed a lump in his throat, because his smugness meant nothing good.

_We should go,_ he meant to say.

“Why don’t we take a walk around the lake?” he said instead, turning to his boyfriend with a smile.

“Sure! Can you make these to go?” Roman gestured to the mugs.

“I can do anything for you.”

Virgil stared in shock, his eyes wide. How could he dare continue to flirt with him when he’d made it clear that they were a couple?

“How was your- Virge, are you okay?”

It was the second time Roman called him by that nickname, and he knew what it meant. He was slightly concerned about him. Roman had a talent for inventing the best-suited nicknames, and only resolved to use first names when he was sad, angry or worried. However, Virgil didn’t have time to respond because Ethan pushed two cups towards them, along with a receipt.

As Roman took out his wallet to pay, Virgil’s eyes were drawn to the bottom of the note, where there was a small handwritten message. It was hardly readable, but thanks to the number of hours spent correcting essays in that particular handwriting, Virgil had no trouble deciphering it.

**Here’s my number, in case you’re interested in more debates about Star Wars. Ps. I love how your face brightens when you laugh ;)**

Enough was enough. Virgil snatched the receipt and crumpled it in his hand before taking the steaming cups, pushing his boyfriend towards the exit.

“What’s happening, love?” asked a distressed Roman once they were outside.

This was even worse. Roman was so proud of his own nicknames that he never used “traditional” pet names, unless he knew he needed to know something.

Virgil let out a sigh. “I’ll explain everything, but we need to find a bench or something.”

They walked to the lake, nervousness welling up inside him, and sat down on rocks that were bordering the water. Virgil took a sip of his drink and breathed in and out before talking.

“I know Ethan. I met him in high school. He- he was my first and only boyfriend before you.”

Virgil felt heat in his cheeks, his heart beating faster and his breathing becoming uneven.

“Hey, it’s okay, don’t panic.” Roman quickly said, putting a hand over his forearm.

The contact and the sweetness in his voice were soothing, and after a few seconds, Virgil managed to look his boyfriend in the eyes.

“I understand that you know him, but why did you act like that? I mean, I love PDA but I know that’s not your case, and it became very suspicious when you just rushed out of that coffee shop.”

Virgil’s eyes widened and he took his arm out of Roman’s grip.

“Ro, please tell me you’re not that oblivious! Not with your knowledge in tragedy!”

“I mean, I know he was flirting with me, but a lot of people do that, and you know it.”

Virgil breathed out. Good, Roman hadn’t lost his mind. Yes, he knew that.

“No, I- I know, but… Ethan is- he’s a bad person.”

“He seemed pretty nice.”

“Yeah, at first. It’s his way of obtaining your trust. What do you know about him? What did he tell you?”

“Not much…” Roman looked away as if to think about it. “He said he quit college after two months because he wasn’t fit for it and began working in a self-service restaurant. But he got kicked out after a year because his boss had found out he left all the hard work to his colleagues and didn’t do much, based on what said colleagues had reported. He claimed it wasn’t true and left, and that’s how he ended up here.”

“Okay, not much but everything you need.” Virgil muttered.

He was not surprised to hear that Ethan had failed college after two months, and he knew for sure his previous boss’ accusations were true.

“It sounds like him.” He continued after having taken another sip of his coffee. “He loves manipulating people. We met in our Junior Year, when we had to work together for a History project. I quickly found out he didn’t know anything, and I took my time explaining stuff. Well, you know how I am…”

Roman smiled, because he knew exactly how he was. Virgil had a helpful nature, and that was even why the two had met.

“So… We got a B+ on the project, which was a good thing for Ethan, and he decided to reward our work with a kiss.”

“Wow…” Roman laughed. “The guy might not have known shit about History, but he sure knew how to woo a man!”

Virgil frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, that’s his problem. The thing is, at the time, I’d known I was gay for a while, but I’d never had a boyfriend and it stressed me out.”

“No wonder, Sir Stressed-a-lot.”

Virgil pushed Roman, but the nickname brought a smile back to his lips.

“Anyway, I told him that, and he promised we didn’t have to rush it, so I agreed to date him. And the more time passed, the more I felt at ease and started to grow feelings for him. But the more time passed, the more he was using me.”

Roman frowned. “Using you?”

“Yeah, I told you he likes manipulating people. As it had started, he used me to do his homework for the classes we shared. At first it was a collaboration, but before I noticed, I did everything for him. And he used me with his parents too. They wanted someone perfect for him, and he asked me to pretend to like everything he liked, even though it clearly wasn’t the case, so I could have that nice image when I’d meet them for the first time. But that wasn’t the worst…”

As Virgil took a deep breath, Roman scooted closer to him and put a hand on his thigh to show his support.

“One time, we had to write an English essay. When mine was ready, Ethan asked if he could read it, for inspiration. It was close to the due date and I never got to read what he’d written. Unfortunately, I found out quite soon. He just changed the name on the essay and the teacher confronted him about our copies, which were identical. He pretended that I had copied him. I wasn’t able to convince him and was expelled for a week.”

Virgil breathed in, trying not to let the tears brought back by this memory fall down, and Roman pulled him into a hug.

“What a traitor…”

“He was worse than that. After a long debate with him, full of anger and tears, I broke up with him. From that day on, I decided that I never would open up to boys ever again.”

“But clearly you didn’t.”

Virgil pulled away from his boyfriend and looked at him, his mouth twitching into a smile.

“Wow, you never told me you actually were Sherlock Holmes.”

They laughed, and Virgil found that it was doing him a lot of good.

“My plan was carrying out well. I finished high school and moved away for college. I stayed discreet in order not to draw attention from anyone. Until one day, six months into college, when _someone_ plastered the walls with posters asking for someone to read over his play.”

Roman laughed. “Oh, what did you do, my Chemically Imbalanced Romance?”

“Well, after an internal fight, I called the guy and met him in a coffee shop on a Saturday morning.”

“And let me guess, the guy showed up with a fifty-page, handwritten script and you fell in love with his play.”

Virgil looked away, blushing a little because he was about to share with his boyfriend exactly how he fell in love with him, which was something they had never talked about in detail in the two years they’d been together. Regaining confidence, he smirked at Roman with a small laugh.

“Well, the play wasn’t really what made me fall in love with him.”

Roman put a hand to his chest with an offended noise.

“But… I did fall in love with his gorgeous face, which immediately took my breath away. At the time I wanted to curse myself for breaking my rule, until we got started on the play. It was a great afternoon.”

Roman placed a hand on Virgil’s cheek at his honest smile and couldn’t fight the urge to kiss him. After a while, they pulled away and the literature student rested his head against the taller man’s chest.

“You know what surprised me most about you?”

“My creative brain hidden behind all that beauty?” Roman said with a deep, playful voice that always managed to give Virgil chills.

“No… It was when you told me that you knew who I was. I had started college the way I ended high school, discreet and hiding. If I’d known that was what you noticed in people, I’d have changed tactics.”

Roman slightly pushed Virgil away from him and placed a hand under his chin.

“Yeah well… Talent shouldn’t be going to waste, and I knew you were the best in your year, even though college had just started. That’s why I was so glad when you said you wanted to help with my play.”

Virgil smiled. Roman had told him at the time that he loved giving opportunities to people who thought they didn’t deserve it, mentioning his best friend Patton as an example. He had discovered when they were in high school that Pat could draw incredible landscapes with a unique style. That was how he got him on board of the set team in their school’s theater club, and how their friendship was born.

“When you said you had an eye for noticing students who didn’t want to stand out when they should, it made my heart melt, because no one had ever said anything like that about me.”

Roman frowned. “Even Ethan? I mean, if he needed you to have his work done, he must have complimented you or your work.”

Virgil pressed his lips together. “I don’t think he complimented that. He did tell me that what he liked about me was that I had taken the time to explain things to him, but he never praised my work.”

“I hate him even more.”

Virgil giggled and went back to the story of his meeting with Roman.

“Anyway… I wasn’t even surprised when you fought your way through the lunchroom the next Monday, just to ask me out on a date.”

“And why’s that, Emonescence?”

“Well, you weren’t exactly hiding your interest. I mean, offering to walk back to the dorm together after having spent an entire day together, and texting the whole Sunday?”

Roman smiled and Virgil thought he saw his cheeks turn pink.

“Yeah well… I had to take my chance. I immediately understood that we shared an interest in tragicomedy and Disney movies, so I wanted to know what else we had in common. But you know that.”

“I do. And I guess now you understand better why I wanted to take things slow even though I accepted the date.”

Roman tilted his head to the side and passed a hand through his boyfriend’s hair.

“Yeah, I guess I do. But you know, even at the time, I knew you needed to be the one to make the first move, and I was ready to wait until you were in the right place.”

“And I’m glad you did.” Virgil smiled as he placed his hands around Roman’s back to pull him closer. “But I’m even more glad to have kissed you when I did.”

With that, they shared a long, intense and delicate kiss.

“I love you, Virgil, and I won’t let Ethan near either of us. I’ll make sure you know how I feel about you.”

“Thank you, Ro. And I love you too.”

***


End file.
